Invincible
by Tahiri Solo
Summary: *WARNING: Do not read if you have not read Star By Star. Contains major spoilers* A second companion piece to Wrap Me In Your Wings. The two young Jedi, still not fully recovered from the events in SbS, try to heal each other's emotional wounds . . .


Invincible  
  
By Tahiri Solo  
  
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Disclaimer: All the characters, places and such mentioned in this story belong to Lucasfilm. Unfortunately, I own nothing. But if I did, you better believe the books would not be ANYTHING like they are now. Also, if this bears any resemblance to stories written by others, that is purely coincidental. No infringement is intended.  
  
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Tahiri Veila lay curled up in the arms of her best friend, Anakin Solo, her head pillowed on his chest. Her breathing was even as the blue-eyed young man stroked her hair, looking down at her with the strongest of emotions showing in his eyes.  
  
She was asleep.  
  
Ever since Anakin's return from the embrace of death, the blonde haired young woman had not left his side. She seemed to think that if she left him, he would disappear forever and she would lose him. Though Anakin loved having her close by him and wanted to spend every moment with her, the way she clung so desperately to him nearly broke his heart.  
  
Anakin smiled faintly as she stirred a little in her sleep, nestling into his chest. She looked so peaceful when she slept.  
  
And beautiful.  
  
Anakin still couldn't imagine how, during all of his years at the academy, he had never noticed just how pretty she was . . . the gorgeous sea foam green of her eyes . . . her hair, her smile . . . . Anakin loved everything about her.  
  
He shuddered at the thought of just how close he had come to losing everything with one fatal mistake.  
  
He shook his head to clear it of those thoughts, holding her a little closer. Resting his cheek on her soft hair, Anakin sighed and drifted off into sleep to join her.  
  
  
  
Later that night, Anakin was woken from sleep by the mental images of himself dying, and of slicing his wrists . . . .  
  
Anakin blinked in confusion until he abruptly felt Tahiri trembling gently against him in her sleep and realized that he was seeing her dreams.  
  
Anakin winced in sympathy, nearly overcome by guilt. Had she been having these dreams ever since his death?  
  
He gently slid her off his chest until she was laying on her back, still cradled in his arms. Anakin began kissing her, her forehead, her cheeks, her lips, until her adventurine eyes blinked open.  
  
Tahiri stared at him for a long moment, then suddenly, she threw her arms around him and clung to him fiercely.  
  
"You're here," she breathed. "You're really here. I - I dreamed . . . I thought . . ."  
  
Anakin stared into her eyes. "Tahiri, it's okay. I'm not leaving you."  
  
"You already did once," she murmured. "I want to make sure you don't do it again."  
  
Tahiri buried her face in his chest. "Just hold me," she whimpered.  
  
"Please, baby, don't cry," Anakin begged, knowing that she was silently sobbing into his shirt. "Everything's okay. I hate seeing you so upset . . ."  
  
She pulled back from him. "Anakin, I know you say you're never leaving me -"  
  
"And I'm not," Anakin interrupted. "Believe me."  
  
"I wish I could," she told him hoarsely. "And I know you would never leave or hurt me on purpose. But the fact is, you still could. Something could take you away from me again - and I couldn't bear that."  
  
Tahiri couldn't meet his eyes as she spoke. "Anakin, I used to think that you were invincible, that you could save me - and yourself - from anything. But now I know that's not true. All it took was a single amphistaff, and you were out of my life."  
  
Her eyes burned with unshed tears. "Don't tell me you're here now. I know you are. But what I want to know is, will you be here tomorrow?" Tahiri gave a dry sob. "My life was nothing without you, Anakin. You're all I have, and all I need. But if I lost you again . . . I don't think I could go on."  
  
"Tahiri," Anakin said, his eyes lit with a fierceness she rarely saw, "listen to me. With the Yuuzhan Vong, anything can happen to any one of us, and no one is invincible. I learned that the hard way, and I wish I hadn't been so Sithspawned stupid and realized it earlier. We could lose everything."  
  
He gently caressed her face. "But I promise you, no matter what, I will love you till the day I die and beyond. When I was dead, all I could think of was you and how much I wanted to hold you again.  
  
"I can't promise you that we'll never be faced with challenges, but I can promise you that our love will be strong enough to conquer them."  
  
Anakin let a hint of a smile cross his lips. "My love for you conquered death itself."  
  
Tahiri sighed. "I know what you're saying, Anakin, but I hate this uncertainty. I can't bear even thinking of losing you, forever this time."  
  
"Then don't think about it," Anakin said simply. "Take each moment for what it's worth. That's what I do."  
  
"But what if -"  
  
Anakin cut her off with a kiss, and her words died on his lips. "Forget the future. Just . . . this . . . moment." His voice was low and soft, his words punctuated with kisses.  
  
Tahiri pushed her fearful thoughts to the side and took Anakin's advice, losing herself in his kiss.  
  
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"Tahiri," Anakin said later that day as they were walking through one of the gardens on Coruscant. "I've been thinking."  
  
"About what?" Tahiri asked, gazing up at him as she hung on his arm.  
  
"I want to take you somewhere. Somewhere safe, where we can forget about the war and just be together, at least for a little while."  
  
Her eyes widened. "Do you have a place in mind?"  
  
Anakin nodded. "Yeah. There's a little planet not too far from here that is pretty much uninhabited, and its completely safe. No Yuuzhan Vong. And it's absolutely beautiful. I know because my parents took us all on vacation there once."  
  
Tahiri smiled. "That sounds perfect. You're sure it's safe? What's it like there?  
  
Anakin grinned back. "If I wasn't absolutely certain it was safe, I wouldn't be taking you there. And I'm not telling you what it's like. I want it to be a surprise."  
  
"When can we go then?"  
  
"Tomorrow, if you want."  
  
Tahiri sighed happily. "I need to get away for a while."  
  
"So do I," Anakin said softly. "So do I."  
  
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"Let me get this straight," Mara Jade Skywalker said, her voice calm but her eyes blazing as she glared at her youngest nephew. "You were just killed by the Vong, but through some crazy miracle, you're back again. And so now, as a logical course of action after just losing your life to the Vong, you're running off to some planet, by yourself, when we're being attacked every time we turn around."  
  
"I'm not going alone. Tahiri is coming with me."  
  
Mara's eyes widened slightly, glinting with mischief. "Ah. I see. Well, if its privacy you're wanting, you don't need to leave the planet. Although it might be a good idea - if your parents found out, they'd more than likely kill you all over again."  
  
Anakin's face turned bright red as he realized what she was implying. "Aunt Mara!" he sputtered. "That is not - we're not . . . I can't believe you said that!"  
  
Mara laughed and ruffled his hair. "I know it's not. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to tease you. The look on your face was hilarious."  
  
"I'm sure it was," Anakin growled, but he was grinning.  
  
"But seriously though. Why are you going?"  
  
Anakin's grin faded and he sighed. "Tahiri . . . hasn't been taking this too well. She's petrified she's going to lose me for good. No matter what I say or do, I can't calm her down about it. So I thought it would be a good idea if we spent some time alone, just the two of us, until we've both recovered."  
  
Anakin's voice was ragged. "Sithspawn, Aunt Mara, I hate seeing her like this - and knowing that I'm the cause of it makes it even worse."  
  
"She'll be okay, Anakin. What do you do when she's upset?"  
  
Anakin blushed. "Kiss her and tell her how much I love her."  
  
Mara grinned, but her smile faded instantly when she saw the tears in Anakin's eyes. "Anakin, what is it?" she asked in alarm.  
  
He swiped away at tears. "Sorry, Aunt Mara," he apologized. "It's just that . . . she's so hurt. She clings to me like if she lets me out of her sight, she's going to lose me again. She can't even sleep unless she's with me. And when she does sleep, she has the most awful nightmares. She sees me dying and fantasizes about slitting her wrists . . . ." His voice trailed off, sounding choked.  
  
Unexpectedly, Mara came forward and hugged him. "She'll be okay, Anakin," she said again. "She was absolutely broken when you died. Its just going to take her a while to get over the trauma."  
  
"It's my fault she's like this."  
  
"Anakin!" Mara exclaimed, sounding exasperated. "You have to stop this! Her condition isn't your fault, Centerpoint wasn't your fault, Chewbacca's death wasn't your fault! Quit blaming yourself for things you didn't do!"  
  
"I love her too much not to blame myself," Anakin said softly. "She's my baby, and now, because of a stupid mistake I made, she's broken."  
  
His aunt then grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him viciously. "Anakin Mikel Solo, have you completely lost your mind?"  
  
Anakin's eyes widened, but he said nothing.  
  
Mara shook her head. "Anakin, listen to me. You have to quit blaming yourself for things. From what your siblings have told me about the mission, that was actually what killed you. After you were wounded, you wouldn't stop to heal yourself because you were afraid more people would die like Chewie. Newsflash: this is a war. People die in wars. You can't always save them. It's a part of life."  
  
She looked hard at him. "The best thing you can do for Tahiri is to quit blaming yourself and just let her know you love her. I know she already knows that, but remind her. Often. I think taking her on a little vacation would do you both good."  
  
Mara winked. "Just behave yourselves."  
  
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Sitting in the copilots seat on a small unnamed freighter she and Anakin had borrowed for their trip, Tahiri sighed. "It'll be good to get away for a little while."  
  
"Don't I know it," Anakin agreed, grinning at her. "You'll love where we're going too, believe me."  
  
Tahiri slid out of her chair and moved over to sit in his lap, snuggling against his chest. "I'd love anywhere, as long as you were there with me."  
  
Anakin stroked her hair, kissing her cheek. "I love you, Tahiri."  
  
She buried her face in his neck, sighing. "I love you too, Anakin."  
  
  
  
About twelve hours later, they had reached their destination. Anakin was smiling as he shut down the ship and opened the landing ramp. He took Tahiri's arms in his and led her down, making her close her eyes as he did so.  
  
Tahiri complained, but did as he asked.  
  
When they reached the bottom of the ramp, Anakin turned Tahiri so that she was faced in the direction of the view. "You can look now."  
  
Tahiri gasped loudly as she saw an ocean, for the very first time. Her face was lit up in childish delight, and she suddenly ran towards the water, laughing in complete joy at the all-too-familiar feeling of sand on her feet joined with the coolness of the water.  
  
"Anakin!" she shrieked. "This is perfect!"  
  
He laughed. He could barely even remember the last time he had seen her this happy. Tahiri ran back to him, her feet and ankles wet. She flung her arms around his neck, her face pressed into his chest. "It's beautiful here. Thank you so much."  
  
Anakin looked around himself. The planet, at dusk, was certainly beautiful, but . . . to him, nothing could compare to the girl he was holding in his arms.  
  
Tahiri grinned a little into his shirt. She knew what he was thinking. She tightened her grip on him, sighing as she felt him stroke her hair.  
  
They stood there in silence for a little while, simply staring at the scenery, until Anakin, feeling playful, began tickling her.  
  
Tahiri yelped and jerked away from him, laughing and looking over her shoulder as he chased after her.  
  
Tahiri was fast, but her laughing slowed her down. Anakin caught her around the waist from behind, and Tahiri tried to lurch forward to get away from him.  
  
The end result of that was that they both fell forward, Anakin landing on top of Tahiri.  
  
He didn't move, and neither did she.  
  
Anakin's chest tightened with emotion as he looked down at Tahiri, her green eyes wide open as she stared back up at him.  
  
Anakin wanted to say he loved her. But he couldn't find his voice.  
  
So instead, he kissed her.  
  
Anakin felt Tahiri's body melt underneath his. She threaded her fingers in his hair and kissed him back.  
  
The thought briefly flashed through Tahiri's mind that this could be the last time they ever kissed.  
  
As Anakin's hands caressed her face, Tahiri stifled a sob. When Anakin heard her soft whimpers and sensed her distress, he instantly pulled back.  
  
"Tahiri," he said softly, "I don't know what to do for you. No matter how hard I try, I can't convince you that I'm not going to let we have slip away from us. And I can't stand seeing you this way. What do you want me to do?"  
  
Tahiri was stunned to see that he was actually crying. She reached up to the brush the salty droplets away from his ice blue eyes, and he caught her hand, holding it to his cheek. "What do you want me to do?" he asked again, his voice a whisper.  
  
Tahiri saw the fierce love burning in his eyes. The look on his face told her everything she needed to know. She couldn't ask for any more than that . . .  
  
"Just love me, Anakin," she whispered. "As long as you love me, that's all I'll ever need."  
  
As she spoke the words, she realized the truth of them.  
  
"Tahiri," Anakin told her softly, his voice low and gentle, "no matter what happens - I don't care if the whole galaxy collapses in on itself - I will always love you. Nothing could ever change that."  
  
Tahiri's face lit in a broad smile. She realized it then: no matter what happened to them, she would always have Anakin's love.  
  
And if she had that, she would be okay.  
  
Tahiri reached up to take his face in her hands. "I love you, Anakin Solo," she whispered.  
  
"I love you too, Tahiri Veila," he whispered back.  
  
Then their lips met and they lost themselves in the kiss.  
  
  
  
They kissed until they were both out of breath. When they finally parted, Tahiri curled up in the crook of Anakin's arm, laying her head on his chest. By this time, it was night, and the sky was alive with thousands upon thousands of glittering stars.  
  
The beauty of it nearly took Tahiri's breath away. The stars here were so clear, and the salty ocean breeze gently whispered over them, causing Tahiri to shiver pleasantly and curl even closer to Anakin to escape the chill. The gentle lapping of the waves, the goodnight calls of seabirds, and the rhythm of Anakin's breathing and heartbeat began to lull her towards sleep.  
  
For once, she felt at peace with herself and with the galaxy.  
  
Anakin wrapped her in a general feeling of love and warmth, and Tahiri responded to it like a newborn clutching its mothers finger. She yawned, enveloped in a complete peacefulness that she didn't think anything could possibly shatter.  
  
They both knew that they had a love so strong, so unbreakable, that it could stand up to even death. Despite what was going on in the galaxy around them, they didn't care. Their love was invincible, and that was all they needed. 


End file.
